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How Frog Hospital got its name

News and commentary by Fred Owens in LaConner, a small town in the Skagit Valley. The story behind the name: There was once a grocery store in a quonset hut, run by Mr. Grobschmidt. Clyde, an old drunk who lived out on the river, thought that Mr. Grobschmidt looked like a frog, so he took to calling the store the "Frog Hospital." Now the quonset hut, Mr. Grobschmidt, and Clyde are all gone -- only this blog survives to carry on the Frog Hospital tradition.

Sunday, August 14, 2016

The Darkness

This
small town in Colorado believes in the darkness of night. They say,
"Let's turn all the lights down low so we can see the stars at night,
even the Milky Way."

And we say, "Let us all welcome the night in our own way and not fear it, as these gentle folk have done."

Cubs in First Place. America
is a beautiful place -- the Cubs are in first place with 75 wins and
the best record in baseball. I grew up in the North Shore suburbs of
Chicago, being born in Cubs territory. When I was a kid the Cubs always
came in last place, year after year. Last place! I remember asking my
Dad, "Do we ever get to win?" And he said some day my son, some day.

Contact Information. I
keep names in my cell phone. One friend has advanced Alzheimers and
wouldn't know a flea from a giraffe. I can't call him -- what would be
the point? Another friend -- Barbara Cram -- has been dead since
November, 2009, so I can't call her either. Maybe I could leave a
message.

A third friend doesn't have a phone. He resides
in an institution for the criminally insane and has been held there for
thirty years -- thirty years! I cannot argue with the judgment against
him -- that he did a very bad thing in 1986 and they should not let him
be free unless he can display some adult responsibility. But still --
thirty years is a long time and he is my friend. He will always be my
friend.

Some people who read this newsletter will know who I am talking about.

If
a Trump loss becomes inevitable, the voters will face the reality of
Mrs. Clinton and her very talented husband moving back into the White
House. Yes, we want Trump to lose, but we don't want Mrs. Clinton to
win...... We can expect swing voters to do a lot of swinging back and
forth on this.

Also, the media is highly invested in
the Trump narrative. He is an interesting fellow, to put it mildly. He's
one of those guys -- if you're looking for a story -- where you don't
have to make things up. With Trump, he talks and all the writers have to
do is write it down and compose appropriate headlines. An Outrage!
Followed by another Outrage! The media does not want the race to be
over until November, so look for him to bounce back in the polls.

And
think about it from Mrs. Clinton's point of view. Being ahead in August
means nothing, winning in November means everything. You don't want to
peak early.

Trump as Medieval King. I have an
impeccable academic source -- a professor of Medieval Studies at the
University of Santa Barbara in California. She agrees with my
assessment -- that Trump would make a fine medieval monarch --
illiterate, violent, hot-tempered, and inclined to pageantry. Trump
would fit right in those distant times. Except he was born in the 20th
century and we do not need a king, we need a President, sober and
serious.

I Give Up. I never could get anybody
to see it my way, so after many years of trying I have given up on the
project. It was my idea that we all ought to share in the chores -- the
house work, the farm work, the yard work, the hospital work. There was
to be no privilege, no exception. We should all take turns and pitch in.
So that's what I did -- five years at the hospital, three years on the
farm, ten years in the yard, five years in the kitchen -- all the time
expecting to be joined by eager converts to this new persuasion -- the
belief that Americans ought to pick their own fruit.... the belief that
there is no work beneath our dignity.

Mrs. Clinton
wants to raise the minimum wage for those who do the chores, and I agree
with that proposal. But wouldn't it dignify this necessary labor if she
did a few chores herself? "Tote that barge, lift that bale." Yes! But I
give up. It will never happen.